President Goes Golfing

No, Not That President


By Dell Hill

The George W. Bush Presidential Center is the primary sponsor of the Warrior Open golf tournament at the beautiful Las Colinas Country Club just outside of Dallas, Texas.

    “Golf is an important part of the rehabilitation process for many of those seriously injured on the front lines. The sport provides an opportunity to leave the hospital environment and get some fresh air.  It requires focus and concentration, which can help take the mind off the recovery process and the pain.  It provides a way to hone movement and motor skills.

    The Warrior Open will bring many of these brave members of our military together for a 36-hole competition. This year’s tournament will take place near Dallas, Texas, on October 10 and 11, 2011.

    We will crown a champion.  More importantly, we will honor all those who serve and sacrifice to defend our freedom.  And we will herald the many organizations who are giving their time, talents, and resources to support our men in uniform and their families.” - President George W. Bush

Former President George W. Bush On The Practice Tee

But this tournament isn’t about the dignitaries; not even the former president.  It’s about heroes.


I invite you to enjoy all of the photos of this marvelous event by visiting the Warrior Open official web site by clicking here, and the George W. Bush Facebook page by clicking here. 


UPDATE:  Cpl. Chad Pfeifer bested the field at Las Collinas to win the 1st Annual Warrior O;pen.


Here's a look at the presentation ceremony.

Robert Stacy McCain Unloads On OWS Pond Scum

I Couldn't Have Said It Better!

Robert Stacy McCain Unloads On OWS Pond Scum


By Dell Hill

On the banner at Robert Stacy McCain's "TheOtherMcCain" web site there's a quote from Arthur Koestler.
 

 "One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Stacy certainly lived up to those words and then some this week when he published this rather succinct directive.

#OccupyWallStreet = DIE, YOU COWARDLY COMMIE SCUM!

(Click on the link to read his post)

Never one to avoid speaking his mind, McCain went right through the roof when he caught a glimpse of this photo.

 

This is what we're up against, folks.  The "S" word that could never be spoken during the 2008 presidential campaign is now hoisted high for all to actually see.  The socialists have come streaming out of the closet and, backed by unions from coast-to-coast as well as 90% of the lame stream media, your president's REAL agenda for "change" has been revealed.

California’s Assault On The Second Amendment Continues


By Dell Hill

I’ve often wondered why people insist on demonizing firearms as the “killers of people”, all the while ignoring the fact that a firearm has never leaped from its hiding place and opened fire on ANYONE.  And certainly an unloaded firearm - sans ammunition - is even less likely to perform that feat of magic.

Very sadly, people kill other people and some of them use a firearm for that purpose.  Some use other instruments, such as razor-sharp knives, to do exactly the same thing, but with the exception of knives over a certain blade length, there are few laws preventing we humans from using said knives to take another person’s life.  Very strange, is it not?

Once again, the politicos in California have taken legislative action against firearms (and more specifically, handguns) from being displayed in public.  This time they’ve gone so far as to make it illegal to carry an unloaded gun in public.

Politico reports that Governor Jerry Brown has signed that ban into law, and Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey points out just how foolish the law is...and just how foolish and wrong it’s backers are:

California Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday that he signed into law a measure that bans handgun owners from openly carrying their weapons in public.

Previous regulations had allowed the open carrying of unloaded handguns in public, but police chiefs and sheriffs objected to the rule because people felt frightened when they saw handguns in public places.

“They are tied up dealing with calls from the public about gun-toting men and women in the coffee shop,” California Assemblyman Antony Portantino, who introduced the bill, said last month. “As law enforcement officials tell me, it’s not safe and someone is going to get hurt.”

Gun rights activists had exercised their right to open carry their unloaded firearms by showing up to public places in large numbers with firearms in holsters, which alarmed some members of the public.

As I explained at the time, this is not only an affront to 2nd Amendment rights, it’s entirely absurd:

The state of California wants to ban a practice that presents no immediate threat, conducted by law-abiding citizens with no record, that has produced no shooting incidents.  Anti-gun advocates would rather waste time on this than, say, solving the massive budgetary and debt problems the state faces, as well as solving the problem by allowing law-abiding citizens to get concealed-carry permits with a “must-issue” law.

This reaches the point of absurdity near the end of the video, when the author of a bill to ban open carry of unloaded weapons, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, tells Reason TV that the purpose of the 2nd Amendment is to protect property — which doesn’t include the person himself.  That’s actually backwards, even under existing lethal-force-in-self-defense laws.  

People are not permitted to use lethal force to protect property in California, or Minnesota either, with or without carry permits.  (Neither can the police, by the way.)  They can only use lethal force of any kind when faced with an immediate threat in which a reasonable person fears for their own life or of “great bodily harm,” which roughly means losing a limb or an eye, not just getting beaten up.  All the carry permit allows is the ability to have the lethal force at hand if that situation arises; it doesn’t exempt the permit holder from laws defining lethal force in self-defense.  In most cases, and certainly in Minnesota, those laws require a victim to retreat first if possible rather than using the lethal force, sometimes even in their own homes.

(Dell’s Note:  Texas is one state that allows for the use of deadly force to protect one’s property, as well as another human being.)

Instead of solving the problem by allowing law-abiding citizens to get licenses to carry effectively, the state of California has taken further steps to keep them disarmed.  But at least people won’t have to look at nasty guns, even those that have no ammunition in them.  What a win for public safety!”

Read Brother Ed’s entire post by clicking right here.

Now, if we may, let’s slide back to my original point.  This is an unloaded handgun.


This particular weapon costs around $400.  Ammunition for it costs about $20 for a box of 50 rounds.

This is a “pocket knife” that is 3.937 inches in overall length and, therefore, legal to carry just about anywhere in public:

This knife, razor-sharpened, can be used to kill a human being silently and almost instantly.  It costs about $59.95 on E-Bay, and it needs no ammunition.  It’s ready to kill, right out of the box.  Equally deadly knives are available at considerably lower prices and, although they’re “illegal”, you seldom hear of anyone being charged with the crime of possessing one.  And certainly criminals who carry such illegal weapons aren’t too concerned about a criminal charge of possession of an illegal knife - After all, the crime they’ve committed is far, far more serious.

A knife, in the hands of an expert user, is just as deadly as almost any other weapon known to mankind.  So why is all of the emphasis on banning guns?

As a country bumpkin, growing up in Vermont, carrying a pocket knife was as common as wearing a wrist watch.  Being taught how to use firearms safely and effectively was as common as learning to ride a bicycle.  Our primary reason for learning how to safely use firearms and knives was the result of having to hunt and fish to sustain the family’s meat locker.  All of that training was put to instant good use in the military, where the end result was to protect and defend our country.

My advanced infantry training required the expert use of a KNIFE to accomplish our mission goals.  The very same type of knife pictured above was far superior to any handgun, rifle or shotgun to enhance special operations inside enemy lines.

My post-military career as a law enforcement officer required the exact same proficiency with handguns, rifles and shotguns as was required by the United States Army.  It was also required that I learn how to use and defend against knife attacks.  I even carried a boot knife whether I was on or off duty.  Today I carry both - a concealed Ruger LC-9, 9mm semi-automatic pistol (fully loaded!) and an innocent looking, but razor-sharp, Browning lock-back pocket knife.  I would not hesitate to use either or both in a self-defense scenario.

If State’s like California think they’re protecting the people by passing laws banning unloaded guns, they’re sadly mistaken.  The criminals those same citizens face every day WILL be carrying a weapon of some kind, and they WON’T be unloaded.

As our Constitution clearly allows; You have two distinct choices.  1)  Be a gun owner, or 2) Be a victim.  I hope and pray you’re never in a situation where those two choices collide, but, if you are, you at least have a chance to survive by choosing #1.

Reid Refuses Vote on Obama’s Jobs Legislation

Overrides Senate Parliamentarian & Then Changes Senate Rules


By Dell Hill

Parliamentary procedure is the “official rule book” that dictates the rules, ethics and timeless customs directly associated with organizations, and most especially legislative bodies.  In the United States, parliamentary procedure is SUPPOSED to be used to conduct legislative actions in both the House and Senate.

Not to follow parliamentary procedure results in a declaration of an act being ruled “out of order” and the person who determines what’s “out of order” is the parliamentarian - a person considered an expert in the rules; a referee, so to speak.

What happened in the United States Senate last week borders on criminal, but it’s not the first time it’s been done.  Majority Leader Harry Reid ramrodded yet another vote to override a ruling issued by the parliamentarian and he simply changed the rules on how the Senate conducts its business.

Republican Senators wanted to vote on the President’s latest jobs legislation and Reid knew he didn’t have the votes to pass it.  Rather than follow the Senate rules, he avoided the obvious huge embarrassment of not being able to pass the bill by changing the rules.  He invoked the so-called “Nuclear Option” once again.

The Faces of Honest Leadership

The Hill has been all over this most recent Reid manipulation of the rules and we need to be aware of the blow-back that’s surely coming:

“Senate Republicans vow they will retaliate for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) decision to unilaterally change the Senate’s rules Thursday without prior warning or negotiation.

Republican aides say their bosses will now be even more reluctant to allow the Senate to conduct routine business by unanimous consent, forcing Reid to gather 60 votes for even the most mundane matters.

“Reid fired a major salvo and it’s hard to imagine a return shot won’t be fired. Maybe over the weekend they’ll come up with something and try to make it less worse than it already is,” said a Senate GOP leadership aide.
       
Partisan anger hit a boiling point in the chamber this week after Republicans refused to allow final passage of a China currency bill unless Democrats voted on President Obama’s jobs package, as originally drafted.

Triggering what has come to be known as the chamber’s “nuclear option,” Reid overturned Senate precedent that allowed Republicans to force votes to proceed to non-germane amendments.  He did so by voting with 50 of his Democratic colleagues to overturn a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian.

The controversial procedural tactic hasn’t been used in years.  In a chamber where it requires the consent of all 100 senators to dispense with the reading of a bill, changing the rules unilaterally is considered bad form.

Former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) predicted Thursday’s blow-up on the floor would have aftershocks.

“It’s obviously consequential and significant,” he said of the surprise rules change.

Eric Ueland, who served as chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), also predicted repercussions.

“Usually if you set off a nuke, you’re responsible for the fallout," he said. “There’s likely to be fallout here to the extent members on either side of the aisle feel this new gag rule impedes their ability to legislate.  That has ramifications down the line.”

More than majority leaders before him, Reid has used a tactic known as filling the amendment tree to block Republicans from offering politically charged amendments to legislation.  He has done this to protect vulnerable members of his caucus from taking tough votes.

He did it on the China currency bill that was being debate when he triggered the nuclear option.  Republicans had no recourse to force a vote on Obama’s jobs package than to offer a motion to suspend the rules after the Senate had already voted to move to final passage.

By changing the rules Thursday, Reid barred Republicans from forcing votes even on motions to suspend the rules to proceed to amendments designed to send a political message.

One GOP strategist said giving the minority an opportunity to vote on these message amendments “lets partisan steam out of the kettle.”

Now that Republicans have been deprived this outlet, they warn pressure will build up, threatening an explosion.

Reid halted Senate business in the middle of consideration of the China bill Thursday night and rescheduled a return to work for Tuesday, giving angry Republicans time to cool off.

He and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate Democrats’ messaging and strategy guru, have also proposed a bipartisan caucus meeting, to give lawmakers on both sides of the aisle chance to talk out their frustrations.
Reid said he would be happy to sit down with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in an effort to mend fences.

“I’m sure we can all cinch up our belts and, as they say in the old and new testament, gird our loins and try to do a better job of how we get along here,” Reid said.

“One of the things I want to do is have a joint caucus,” he said. “I want to have one with Democratic senators and Republican senators and at that time we can all talk about some of the frustrations we all have.”

McConnell has yet to respond to the overture.

Reid and McConnell entered into a gentlemen’s agreement at the beginning of the year to allow the Senate’s business to proceed more smoothly.

Reid promised to give Republicans opportunities to offer amendments, and McConnell pledged not to filibuster motions to proceed to legislation, unless the legislation is highly controversial.

Schumer and Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) also worked out an agreement to allow hundreds of mid-level administration nominees to be appointed without Senate confirmation.

Senate aides say the gentlemen’s agreement and spirit of bipartisan cooperation that existed in January are now dead.”

We invite you to read the entire report from The Hill by clicking here.

The major problem for Harry Reid right now is the blow-back that’s bound to happen as early as Monday morning on the floor of the Senate.  Republican Senators - literally incensed with Reid - will turn this action against him and start demanding roll-call votes for every single vote that comes to the floor.  That includes the naming of the post office in outter-nowhere USA to honor a political crony, something that normally results in a legal suspension of the rules to accomplish by “unanimous vote”.

Normally, the rules are suspended for the reading aloud of every piece of legislation. Not going to happen now.  And most legislation is thousands of pages long and will take many hours to read.  

Reid knows what he’s done and he knows what’s coming.  That’s why he’s working feverishly to to quell the anger from the Republican side of the aisle.
He knows that Republican campaign ads will feature the president calling for congress to “pass this bill now”, followed by a list of his own party members who voted again it.

Reid is taking one for the team here.  And the balance of this congressional session is likely to be fraught with one major battle after another.

For politicians like Harry Reid, if you can’t win playing by the rules, you simply change the rules!

I Stand With Gibson!

By Dell Hill

The good folks at Gibson Guitars are world-famous artisans.  They build some of the most beautiful musical instruments you’ll find anywhere.  Today, Gibson is under siege...by our own federal government.

HELP GIBSON MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

On Wednesday, August 24th, 2011, agents for the U.S. government executed four search warrants on Gibson Guitar's facilities in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, and seized several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The raids forced Gibson to cease manufacturing operations and send workers home for the day while armed agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service executed the search warrants for ebony and rosewood that was imported from India.
 
The federal officials claim that Gibson violated the Lacey Act, which stipulates that a company cannot import wood in a manner that's against the laws of the country the wood is coming from. However, Gibson has complied with Indian law and no concerns have been raised by the Indian government.

"Agents seized wood that was Forest Stewardship Council controlled," Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said. "Gibson has a long history of supporting sustainable and responsible sources of wood and has worked diligently with entities such as the Rainforest Alliance and Greenpeace to secure FSC-certified supplies. The wood seized on August 24 satisfied FSC standards."

Juszkiewicz believes that the Justice Department is bullying Gibson without filing charges. This is the second time Gibson has been raided by the federal government (the first was in 2009), yet no charges have been filed and the materials confiscated on both occasions remain in federal hands.

Gibson is reaching out to all Gibson Guitar fans, Gibson Guitar dealers, artists, musicians, members of the media, bloggers, politicians and anyone who loves the guitar to sign this petition and demand:

• The current investigation of Gibson will be stopped and brought to a fair and conclusive settlement
• The Lacey Act will be amended to provide clear guidance on how corporations can comply
• Consumers will not be prosecuted for owning or transporting instruments for their own use

"Gibson is innocent and will fight to protect its rights," Juszkiewicz said. "Gibson has complied with foreign laws and believes it is innocent of any wrong doing. We will fight aggressively to prove our innocence."

I encourage you to sign the Gibson petition by clicking right here.

"Boatlift" - A Must See Video

A truely uplifting video for your viewing pleasure today.

This is the incredible story of "Boatlift" - the largest watercraft evacuation in history.  Over 500,000 terrorized victims of 9-11, transported to safety by an armada of boats in New York Harbor.

My thanks to Big Geek Daddy's web site.

Sunday Open Thread

It's your "open season" thread.  Comment on anything you'd like.  If I have a clue as to what's being discussed, I might just chime in with you.

Sports - including baseball, football, NASCAR, you name it - all welcome.  Music?  I'm not much on today's music, but if you mention the big bands, country, rock n roll, the oldies...I'm down with that.

I do want to thank all y'all for checking out the new blog and for all of your encouraging words.  Over 400 hits in just a few days, so we're off like herd of turtles.  I've still got some tweaking and learning to do, but it will all come together in time.